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- New Items 2004 - Main Catalog 2004 / 2005

Prototype information

Starting in 1882 after a number of laws had been repealed, the construction of local
railroads rapidly took off. Locomotives were needed for this, which could master the steep grades and sharp curves, such as the line Kempten - Pfronten for example, with its grades of up to 1:40 and curves with a radius of only
180 meters or approximately 590 feet. For this reason it was initially decided not to
build locomotives with four coupled axles in a rigid frame. Instead, the firm J. A. Maffei was...

Starting in 1882 after a number of laws had been repealed, the construction of local
railroads rapidly took off. Locomotives were needed for this, which could master the steep grades and sharp curves, such as the line Kempten - Pfronten for example, with its grades of up to 1:40 and curves with a radius of only
180 meters or approximately 590 feet. For this reason it was initially decided not to
build locomotives with four coupled axles in a rigid frame. Instead, the firm J. A. Maffei was awarded a contract to build a four-cylinder compound wet steam Mallet design locomotive.
On this locomotive the rear fixed mainframe carried the two high-pressure cylinders;
the low-pressure cylinders were mounted on the front, pivoting frame. Both the high pressure and low-pressure cylinders were equipped with Heusinger out-board mounted valve gear. The
rear wheel sets in each group served at driving axles. At first these locomotives were equipped with a Hardy vacuum brake system, which was
later replaced by a Westinghouse compressed
air brake system. A total of 31 units of this design left the Maffei shops in Munich. They were designated in Bavaria as the class BBII and later
by the DRG as the class 98.7. One example of the class 98.7 was preserved and belongs to
the collection of the German Museum in Darmstadt - Kranichstein, Germany.